Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Mad cow

I'm going to get all serious on you. The U.S. Dept of Agriculture announced that a dairy cow was infected with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) in California. It's better known as mad cow disease. (Much catchier name. But not catching! Important difference.)

"Milk and dairy products do not contain or transmit BSE, and animals do not transmit the disease through cattle-to-human contact. The infectious prions that transmit BSE are found in neurological tissues, such as brains and spinal cords."

Translated - Not in milk and dairy products.

BSE hasn't been found in cattle in our country since 2006. This is the fourth case in our country EVER. So the rarity of it is a positive. The fact that they test for it is reassuring. As a result, no meat from this animal was ever in the food chain.

Obviously, we have standards and testing in place to keep us all safe. News like this is bad for everyone ... but it's not as bad as it could be. It's not a person that was infected. Let's keep it that way.

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Eight years ago, we quit our corporate jobs and bought a dairy farm in Michigan. We milk cows and raise alfalfa, corn, and three little boys. This year I'm a spokesperson for U.S. Farmers & Ranchers Alliance. I love talking about farming - ask me anything!